This invention relates to a machine for modelling products to be frozen, which is particularly useful in forming ice creams, popsicles, ice lollies and the like with and without a holding stick.
Known have been several types of ice cream- or popsicle-making machines; such machines may be divided susbtantially into two general classes: linear and rotary machines.
Linear machines generally comprise an active upper section where molds are entrained into a refrigeration tank, and a lower return section which is functionally devoted to taking the now empty molds to a filling device located at the start portion of the upper section.
To allow for an adequate mold entrainment speed and ensure a good production rate, said machines have a substantial length dimension which depends on the length of the active cooling stroke.
Such space requirements affect the icecream production economy on such machines in a twofold way: first, a large number of molds are required and at any given time, only one half of these will be actively operating, which results in problems when changing mold sizes and involves the availability of a large inventory of molds in different sizes; secondly, the molds are turned upside down during the return stroke, thereby loosing any ice cream mixture left in the molds and being contaminated by freezing solution.
The latter problem involves, in turn, a twofold increase in costs because the contamination from the freezing solution admixed to the remainder icecream requires that the molds be carefully flushed during the return stroke, which leads to a loss in the refrigeration units cumulated during the active stroke.
Rotary machines have, in turn, molds which are arranged radially so as to be presented beneath the filling, withdrawing, and stick dispensing devices on a straight line.
Such molds are rigid with a mold holder plate in the shape of a segment of a circle and require, on account of their complexity, an accurate and expensive machining which reflects significantly on the machine overall cost.
Machines of this type also exhibit, owing to the particular configuration of the mold holder plates, poor versatility since they disallow a quick and economical replacement of the molds.